RiRi's Story
by Aria6
Summary: This is the story of the Riku Replica, and what happens to him after his 'death'. What if he didn't die? What if he was given a heart and a purpose to look after Riku? Riku/Sora and Riku/Riku Replica
1. Chapter 1

_Darkness. There was nothing but darkness._

_So this was dying. Although, he'd never really lived, so how could he really die? Perhaps it was simple non-existence. But no, he was still conscious of himself. The darkness around him was… warm. Inviting. It beckoned him to rest, to sleep. But… there was someone else here. He could feel the presence, much larger and more potent than he could ever hope to be. It was watching him with… tenderness? He didn't understand. Why would it feel that way towards him?_

_He floated towards it, interested, and it did not react. They stayed that way for a small eternity, simply examining each other. To him, the Other was beautiful. Despite living in darkness, the Other was not of the darkness. Not at all. A being of such beautiful light… a beacon in the darkness. He wondered what the Other saw when it looked at him._

"_Hello?" He surprised himself when he spoke. He hadn't been aware he could speak here… he had no awareness of his body at all. He felt a ripple of amusement from the Other before it spoke._

"_Hello. You are Riku's Replica?" A ripple of resentment, almost rage flowed through him before it died in despair. A replica he had been, and a replica he had died._

"_Yes, I am. Who are you?" There was a brief hesitation before the Other answered._

"_I am dead… but in life, I was Riku's mother. In a sense, your mother." The Riku Replica was momentarily speechless. He had all of Riku's memories, so he felt Riku's pain… the pain of a child abandoned at birth and adopted by a family that didn't seem to care for him very much. It probably wasn't entirely their fault, he'd been a quiet, rather prickly child. But he'd still resented the mother and father who had just walked away and never even tried. "Oh child. Child… I have a good reason for leaving you. Him. Both of you."_

"_Why? What could have been a good enough reason?" He demanded, and she laughed, the sound sweet and sad._

"_I died giving birth." The Replica tried to flinch away from the Other, but she held him with hands of love. He'd never thought of that… Riku had never thought of that. That his mother might have died. "And your… his father was a very bad man. In life, I was a Princess of the Heart… he took me, used me, abused me. I escaped and hid, but I hid too well. They couldn't find my name, anything about me, not my parents… so Riku was placed for adoption. I have been watching him, all these years, giving him tiny bits of help in his journeys. But now he faces something I cannot help him with…"_

"_What is this to me?" The Replica asked, and she laughed again._

"_Nothing, at this moment. Heartless boy. What would you give to have a heart? To be real, in your own right?" The Replica was frozen for a moment. That was what he wanted, above all else. To be someone, not simply a data replica of Riku._

"_Anything! But what do you want from me?" He demanded. The Other paused for a moment, thinking. "Wait… what's your name?" The Other seemed to hesitate._

"_Even now, it is better that you do not know. That man… he lives… call me Tatiana." The Riku Replica would have frowned, if he could have._

"_You're worried about your rapist after all this time? What would he want with Riku?" Tatiana sighed._

"_Heartless boy. I would rather not think about what he might want with Riku, if he knew of our boy's existence. Such evil should not exist… but it does not matter. Riku's danger comes from within. My boy… such grief, such pain. I think you can guess the cause, from those memories you hold." The Replica was silent for a moment. There was enough grief and pain in Riku's memories, certainly. And… more. The Replica was a copy of Riku at the age of fifteen, just beginning to feel the stirrings of his sexuality… and all of it aimed at Sora. Who had seemed to return the affection somewhat, but… perhaps not. And the Replica knew that Riku's adoptive family would never accept his feelings. Certainly not if he was really gay. The Replica wasn't sure about that. His brief experiences hadn't been conclusive. "I see you understand… Riku's problems now are things that cannot be fixed with a simple swipe of the sword. I fear he will do himself harm, and I want my boy to have a long, happy life. Not a… a short painful one like mine. If you agree, I will give you a heart and you will watch over my boy. If he dies of something you could have prevented… I will take that heart back."_

_The Replica considered the bargain for a long moment. She wanted him to be Riku's… what? Not really a bodyguard, since he likely wasn't going to get attacked. Although with his family even that was uncertain. Still, she wanted more of a… friend? Confidant? If she hadn't been offering a heart, he would have refused. Being around Riku, who was real when he wasn't, would have been a terrible torture for the Replica. But she was offering a heart, so he would be real too. Realer anyway. So perhaps it wouldn't hurt so much to be around the real Riku._

"_I accept." A flood of warmth seemed to fill him. It was full of pain, suffering, guilt… but also joy, love, and laughter. All the feelings of the world._

_Overwhelmed, he fell into the darkness of unconsciousness._

* * *

The Replica woke up slowly, feeling the warm sun on his face and sand beneath him.

"Oh… where am I?" He rubbed his face, blinking as he sat up. "…?" He looked down at himself and blinked. He wasn't wearing his dark outfit anymore. He was wearing… Riku's clothes. The old clothes, the ones he'd had as a child… the yellow shirt with the black straps, and the blue pants with black shoes. "…Huh." He muttered to himself, flipping to his feet and walking over to the water. He gazed at his reflection for a moment, realizing that he looked… like Riku. Exactly like Riku. How was he going to explain that?

_Actually, you don't look like Riku at the moment._ He stiffened, eyes widening as he heard Tatiana's voice in his head. _He's nineteen right now, and puberty has made a tremendous difference. You're only starting that change._

"Thanks for reminding me I'm a late bloomer." He looked into the water again, frowning. "So I'm a younger version of him. Still going to be hard… and what should I call myself?" He couldn't call himself Riku, although that was the name that was drilled into his mind through all his memories.

_Whatever you like. Or I can name you… heh. I'm going to call you RiRi._ The Replica wrinkled his nose for a moment, then shrugged._ And I have a trick that might help you, although you probably won't want to use it too often._

"RiRi it is. What trick is that?"

_You can assume my old body at will. Just wish for it to happen, and it will._ RiRi blinked, running a hand through his hair, and tentatively made a wish.

And suddenly felt a great deal taller. He looked down, and gaped at the very shapely breasts on his chest. Running his hands down his body, he found a flat, toned stomach, long, beautiful legs and flawless skin… and long, silvery hair flowing behind him. Looking into the water wasn't much of a mirror, but RiRi was certain this body was a picture of female loveliness.

_It is. Unfortunately, there are problems. Touch your ears. _RiRi did, and blinked as he found delicate points. _I was a kind of elf. Your eyes aren't human either._ RiRi couldn't see his eyes, so decided to just take her word for it.

"How could you have been an elf? The Destiny Islands don't have elves." Then something occurred to him. "Does that mean Riku's father was human?"

_I fled very far. I was so desperately afraid… and yes, Riku's father was human. Technically. His actions were not. Anyway… you can use this body to be taken seriously, as an adult. Although your oddness will no doubt be commented on. I don't know if it would be easier to get to know Riku like this or not._ RiRi nodded slowly, and frowned as he looked at what this body was wearing. A very short summer dress… he'd be in danger of showing everyone his panties anytime he tried to sit down. Although… it was displaying a luscious amount of cleavage. RiRi reached up and thoughtfully bounced a boob in one hand. _…What are you doing?_

"Exploring my sexuality." RiRi said innocently, pulling the dress forward a bit so he could stare down his own cleavage. Sure, Riku's memories of affection were all centered on Sora, but did that mean he was actually gay? The tingling between RiRi's thighs seemed to indicate that the answer might be no. Although it felt weird, probably because of the female body. RiRi slowly ran a finger over a nipple, interested in the sensation.

_Stop that!_ Come the outraged sound from Tatiana, but he ignored it. _Excuse me, that is my body and I am technically your mother! Incest!_

"Oh, it is not. I'm Riku's Replica and you gave me this body to help me. Technically, it's MY body this is masturbation. If I were masturbating. I'm just exploring my boobs." RiRi closed his eyes, enjoying the feeling. It didn't feel wrong at all. It felt good.

_ENOUGH!_ RiRi screamed as his pleasure was rudely interrupted by a direct lightning strike out of a clear sky. Hair smoking and clothing on fire in places, he fell twitching the ground.

"That w-wasn't n-necessary. Ow!" The pain quickly faded… whatever she had hit him with, it hadn't been real lightning, exactly. But it had been exceedingly painful.

_You have something to do and it doesn't involve fondling yourself._ She reminded him. _Honestly. You're making me feel like a real mother. Go, would you?_

"Fine, fine. But I hope you won't be talking in my head the whole time." Grumbling to himself, RiRi pulled himself up and straightened the sundress so he wasn't flashing his panties to the world. Checking, he noticed they were a light green… with bows on. Very girly. For a moment, he wondered if Kairi's panties would be pink?

_Just go._

"Yes mother." He answered with a small smile, and began walking along the beach. Surely Riku would be here somewhere? Surely.

* * *

"Ohmigod! Riku, look!" Sora tugged on his hand, and Riku sighed to himself. They were on the beach, watching girls. Or at least, Sora was watching girls.

Sora had finally made his transition through puberty, and girls were becoming a serious obsession for him. Not that that made him any different from almost all the other boys his age. But Riku was a bit older and being with Sora in this stage made him feel ancient. Not to mention that he would have died and gone to heaven if Sora had looked at him the way he was eyeing all those girls… But that wasn't going to happen, and he wasn't going to ruin a perfectly good friendship wishing for it.

"Riku, look! There's a new girl, I've never seen her before! She's so beautiful and she looks like you and… ohmigod, she's coming this way!" Sora was really freaking out now, gaping and staring. Riku quietly wished for the times when the only girl he looked at was Kairi.

"Try reeling your tongue in or she's going to run like hell," Riku advised, and finally looked at the girl coming towards them. "…?!?" His jaw dropped open as he beheld a true vision of beauty. A vision that looked… unnervingly like himself. Her hair was a beautiful, silvery white, flowing down her back like a curtain of foam. Delicately pointed ears peeked out of it, and her facial features were as delicate as a pixie's. Aquamarine eyes eyed Sora with a hint of laughter in their depths, then turned to him with a startling warmth. The sundress she was wearing was perfect for the heat of a summer day, and left nothing to the imagination. Heads were turning all over the beach to watch her… and was he imagining things, or were half the males on the beach already giving them jealous looks? Tidus and Wakka certainly were.

"Hello." Her voice was clear and sweet as birdsong, and Riku had to swallow. It was the kind of voice that made you wonder what it would sound like, breathing sweet nothings in your ears. Sora tried to pull himself together, but it was clearly an uphill struggle.

"Hi! I'm Sora and this is Riku!" He managed to say brightly, grinning like a fool. But that was actually normal for Sora, and Riku smiled faintly as she offered him a hand and he clasped it.

"I'm RiRi." She offered her hand to Riku and he clasped it as well, feeling a strange jolt as he did. Not a bad feeling, just strange. "I'm new to the Destiny Islands… I was wondering if you could help me? Show me around?"

"We'd love to!" Sora immediately jumped up, and Riku sighed to himself, following suit. He'd really rather just spend time with Sora… but, for once, he didn't really resent the intrusion of a girl. RiRi was just so lovely. Riku felt a strange twinge in his spine, and wondered… was he not actually gay? Was he bi? He'd never noticed a woman this powerfully before.

He'd have to spend some time thinking about it.


	2. Dinner with the Family

RiRi walked with Sora and Riku as they showed him the sights, and it didn't feel strange that almost every man was pausing to take a look on the way. In fact, it felt… good. Very good.

_Don't let it go to your head._ Tatiana gently admonished him. _They're not interested in your mind._ A treacherous grin threatened to break out over RiRi's lips, but he suppressed it manfully. Mind or not, it felt good to be watched and desired. And he had to admit that he was feeling some desire right back. RiRi smiled as he watched Riku and Sora… they were both extremely cute, in completely different ways. Hmm. Did this mean he was gay after all? But given the body at the moment, that would make him heterosexual. Deciding to shelve the whole thing, RiRi paid attention to what Sora was saying.

"And this is Kairi's house! She's great, you'll like her." Sora said confidently, but RiRi had his doubts. He'd noticed the looks a lot of the women were shooting him… not friendly looks. Apparently, being incredibly lovely had a few downsides.

_Among humans, anyway. I was only good looking for an elf._ RiRi blinked at that, and wondered what a beautiful elf looked like. _You'd be amazed. It's just as well I'm not that beautiful, though. I'd never be able to pass as remotely human if I were._ RiRi nodded to himself. People seemed to be overlooking the ears and angular eyes easily. Probably because elves didn't exist in the Destiny Islands at all, so they were assuming it was a deformity.

"Hey, there's Kairi." Riku pointed down the street and waved. Kairi stopped for a moment as she saw the stranger with them, then waved and walked over.

"Hi Sora, Riku! Who is this?" She smiled at RiRi, and he was surprised at the genuine friendliness in the expression.

_A Princess of the Heart. Can you feel it? She can be trusted._ Tatiana whispered to him, and he smiled, offering Kairi his hand.

"This is RiRi, Kairi." Riku said as they shook hands. "She's new here… where were you from, anyway? And where are you staying?" For a moment, RiRi felt like his tongue was glued to the top of his mouth. He hadn't thought about this enough, clearly. But he quickly found an explanation.

"I'm from the mainland. I'm staying with friends down by the beach." There was a snicker from Tatiana that seemed to indicate he'd stumbled onto an accidental truth, but he ignored it. If she had some plans for where he would stay, she would tell him when she wanted to. "It's pretty nice here so far, I really like it." Sora beamed at that as Riku and Kairi smiled.

"That's great! A lot of people from the mainland seem to think it's boring here. Are you going to be going to school in the fall?" Sora said hopefully, but RiRi shook his head. He was sure Riku wasn't going to school at nineteen, and RiRi needed to be near him, so school was out.

"No, I'm nineteen." Riku looked at him with interest, and RiRi smiled at him. "I was thinking of getting a job for a while, while I figured out what I want to do."

"My dad might hire you. Right now, I'm helping him around the store but he's getting older and needs some good, reliable help." Riku offered, and RiRi had to hold back a grin. That was exactly what he needed. A way to legitimately spend a lot of time around Riku… it was practically gold plated. "He doesn't pay a lot, though." He cautioned RiRi, and he shrugged.

"Doesn't matter, I don't need too much. Could you introduce me to him?" RiRi asked, and Riku smiled, feeling very pleased by the idea. His father had been making comments about the 'fagginess' of his adopted son for a while. The old man would be struck dumb when he brought home this vision. For the first time in a long time, Riku actually looked forward to talking with his parents.

"I'd love to." Riku said sincerely, and RiRi smiled at him, taking his breath away. She had such a beautiful smile, so brilliant and open. Everything about her was beautiful… although her eyes and ears were a little odd. But that hardly mattered. If anything, it made her look even more exotic.

"Thank you!" RiRi said, linking his arm with Riku's and making the boy blush. Sora, meanwhile, couldn't hide a flash of jealousy… but he shrugged it off and grinned again.

"There's still a lot to show you, come on!" He dashed away with Kairi following behind, laughing. RiRi and Riku exchanged an amused glance, then followed the younger children as they ran. RiRi felt Riku's hand on his back for a moment, and smiled.

That felt good.

* * *

"Mom? Dad?" Riku glanced around the house as he led RiRi in. RiRi glanced around thoughtfully. It was a very mundane home. There was a rather beaten up looking TV, a rug on the floor and some poorly done paintings of people with expressions that seemed to indicate terminal constipation, if RiRi was any judge. None of them looked at all like Riku, but he was an adopted half-elf so that was hardly surprising.

"Riku." A woman stepped out of the kitchen, rubbing her hands on a cloth. She was a plump older woman with frizzy white blond hair. It was so pale that she almost looked credible as Riku's mother, although her brown eyes gave that the lie. She blinked in surprise at the sight of the beautiful girl in her den. "Who is this?"

"Mom, this is RiRi. She's looking for a job, is dad around?" Riku's mother looked at her dubiously, particularly the sundress, and RiRi suddenly wished it wasn't quite as revealing. Sure, it was a very hot day, but still…

"I think he's in the garage. Is she going to be staying for dinner, Riku?" Riku hesitated, then looked at RiRi.

"Would you like to?" He asked RiRi quietly. "I would be glad if you did."

"I would love to." He responded with complete sincerity. This was working out even better than he'd dared hoped. And it would give him at least one good meal before he had to figure out what he was doing… he had a feeling that Tatiana was going to spring something on him he wouldn't like. What, exactly, he wasn't sure… but elves probably didn't do things quite like humans. Despite her earlier dubiousness, Riku's mother looked pleased at the response, and RiRi wondered why.

"I'll go put another tart in the oven then, dear. Go introduce her to your father." Riku took RiRi's hand and led him to the garage. He winced at the sound of machines running, and heard Tatiana grumbling about humans in his mind. An older man with slate grey hair was running a piece of wood through a saw, but frowned and shut it off as they entered the room.

"Riku, what do you…?" He stopped, almost gaping as he spotted RiRi, and Riku smiled slightly. This was just as satisfying as he'd expected it would be.

"Dad, this is RiRi, she's going to stay for supper if that's alright?" Riku asked, and RiRi smiled as Riku's father pulled himself together.

"Sounds like a great idea, son, just clear it with your mother." Riku grinned, and didn't point out that he'd already done that.

"Thanks dad." They left the garage as the machines started up again. RiRi found himself agreeing with Tatiana… the sound was really disagreeable. Although slicing wood with nothing but hand tools would be far more disagreeable, in his opinion. He was pretty sure the elf woman wouldn't share that particular feeling, though.

_No, I wouldn't. There's nothing wrong with hard work._ RiRi mentally shrugged. He couldn't disagree… although he didn't think there was anything particularly good about hard work either. It was all in how you looked at it.

"Supper isn't going to be done for a while… want to come up to my bedroom? Or we could watch TV down here." RiRi looked at the battered TV and felt like shuddering. He couldn't remember having any fondness for TV, so Riku was probably just offering that to be friendly.

"Bedroom, please." He said firmly. "I don't watch TV. I prefer to read." Riku smiled at that, and led him up the stairs. RiRi could have found his own way, but he wasn't about to reveal that.

"Me too. Most of what's on TV is just garbage. What kind of books do you read?" Riku asked, interested, and RiRi smiled.

"Mystery, mostly, but a lot of general fiction. Have you read the Nightingale's Song?" Of course, RiRi knew he had… and knew it was one of Riku's favorite books. He'd read it dozens of times as a child. Riku's smile was a bright, happy thing.

"That's a great book. I didn't know anyone else had read it… have you read Andromeda's Gift?" RiRi was able to respond to the affirmative. That was another one that Riku had read before he had gone into the darkness.

It was so easy to make friends with Riku that RiRi was astonished. But how could it be otherwise? RiRi knew precisely what to say and when to say it. It was as easy as breathing. They were closer than lovers, closer than friends… RiRi was changing a bit, now that he had his own heart, but at the bottom of things they would always share so much. All the memories that had formed them…

Riku's mother called them down for supper, and RiRi took Riku's hand as they walked down the stairs. RiRi was vaguely aware that Riku's mother and father had both noticed, but that wasn't why he had done it, not really. He just liked Riku. It was as simple as that. Riku squeezed his hand, and RiRi met his eyes, seeing the interest there.

_We are going to discuss this later._ Tatiana didn't sound happy at all, and RiRi suppressed a grin. He was pretty sure he knew what she was going to say, and he was already marshalling his arguments. He was Riku's copy, not his brother and not his mother, and this was his body now to use as he saw fit. It wasn't incest.

Although he doubted he'd be able to convince Tatiana of that.

* * *

RiRi assumed his male form with a relieved sigh. While Tatiana's body had a lot to recommend it, it still wasn't the one he was accustomed to. It was a relief to go back to being a boy. He was standing by a small spring in the woods, near the beach. He knelt down, taking a deep drink of the cool, crisp spring water before he spoke.

"So where am I staying?" Tatiana laughed, and he frowned.

_Right here. Look over there… a bit of my hut is still here. It looks like most of it blew away, though._ RiRi blinked, and looked at the poles on the ground. A hut? Tatiana had lived in the wilderness? _Of course. I knew nothing at all of humans then, except that I had been harmed by them. I hid until I realized Riku's birth was imminent… I would have hid then too, but birthing is very hard for elves. If I had lived, I would have brought Riku here and raised him here._

"No offense, but… it's probably just as well you didn't." RiRi could feel Tatiana's sadness. "I'm sorry."

_Don't be. Now that I've had time to observe the people here, I think that you're right. I wouldn't have been a good mother. Too young and terrified… Riku was probably better off with his human family, for all their faults. At least he knows how to be human. I could only have taught him how to be an elf._

"Right." RiRi sighed and started gathering up wood. It was getting chilly out, and he would need a fire for warmth. "I hope you can help me with all this." Riku's memories included nothing about wilderness survival. Riku had never had to make fires or hunt for his breakfast, and RiRi was depressingly certain he'd have to do both for a while, until he started making money anyway. And even then, he'd probably still be making fires.

_Of course. All elves know how to survive off the land. Let me take over your body for a moment, we have something to discuss._ RiRi blinked, and felt Tatiana's presence fill him. His hands moved without his conscious control, and began the routine of fire starting. _You cannot seriously be considering sleeping with my son. RiRi, this is my body and you are the same person._

"I admit, it's a little squicky. But Tatiana, I'm not his brother and I'm not his mother. And you want me to prevent him from hurting himself, right? Can there be any better way?" RiRi thought that would be a telling point, and Tatiana's silence indicated that it was.

_Unless you become the source of his pain. And RiRi, it's not right. You're absurdly close. I don't like it. _RiRi tilted his head to one side, thinking. She might have a point. Would how similar they were get… boring? Still, if it did, surely Riku would feel it and break things off. _Not to mention that you've approached him on the basis of a lie._

"And whose fault is that?" RiRi demanded, then sighed. "I know. I'll have to tell him who I really am and why I'm here eventually. But I need to gain his trust first, so he doesn't just freak out." Which he knew Riku would be in danger of doing if he just sprang all of this on him instantly. Actually, RiRi suspected he would end up on the business end of the Way to Dawn if he just flung it all at Riku. "Besides, I don't know if anything is going to happen anyway. Right now I'm just a girl hanging out with him. And I need to keep a really close eye on him, so I can be there when he finally tells Sora how he feels and Sora tells him to take a hike."

_You think he's going to?_ Sparks flew, and a few caught on the dry wood. RiRi felt his body bend over as he gently puffed on the flames, nurturing them with small scraps of wood. Tatiana was really good at this.

"Yes and yes. Riku's interested in me, and I think that means he'll want to find out if Sora can return his feelings before he turns away." RiRi frowned to himself. "It's what I would do… but depending on how it goes down, he might need help coping with it. Especially since suicide by keyblade is so easy." RiRi felt Tatiana's sudden worry, and tried to reassure her. "I'll be watching him closely, in my male form as well as female. Don't worry."

_I can't help but worry. His blood has already brought him so much grief, and it can only get worse. My poor boy…_ RiRi blinked, wondering what she was talking about, but she didn't go on. Sighing, he curled up by the fire and tried to get some sleep.

He had plenty to do tomorrow.


	3. A Mission from Glod

_I'm not certain why you're doing this?_

"I told you. I'm not sleeping on the dirt again." RiRi adjusted the mattress on his back with a grunt. He was in his male form, so not only was it heavy, it was simply too big for him to handle easily.

It was the dead of the night, and he'd stolen this stained, somewhat broken mattress from a dumpster. It was going to require a bit of cleaning, but it would have to be more comfortable than the dirt. Tatiana seemed mystified by the whole concept.

_But dirt is comfortable. I admit, a few cushions and a blanket are nice, but don't you feel a connection to the All Mother?_

"No. I feel aches and pains in my back from sleeping on dirt." RiRi sighed as Tatiana lapsed into a hurt silence. "I'm sorry. Riku's not an elf, and neither am I."

_I know. _There was such a deep regret there that it make RiRi pause, thinking. He didn't know anything about elves… but maybe he would like to know. They were sort of his family, in a way. And Riku would definitely want to know when he finally found out about Tatiana and his own biological history.

"Maybe you could teach me about it?" RiRi grunted as the mattress tried to slide off his shoulders. "Ow!"

_I would be glad to. RiRi, why don't you assume my form? It would be much easier._ The female body was much taller, and not only that. RiRi had discovered that despite the superficial delicacy, the elven body was very strong and agile. Much stronger than his fifteen year old male body. Maybe that would change when he was nineteen…

"If anyone sees us, I don't want them knowing who I am." Even in the dead of the night, there was a chance some insomniac would spot them and try to figure out what was going on. It was much better to not take any chances, even if it made carrying the mattress a pain.

He had no idea how correct he was.

* * *

Sora yawned, rubbing his eyes. He'd gotten to sleep, but something had woken him up. Likely his supper… the ribs had been great going down, but weren't so pleasant at three in the morning.

"Ow." Sora muttered, sliding out of bed and blinking as he heard something. He had his window open, to catch the breeze. "…?" Glancing out of the window, he saw someone with silver hair rubbing his back for a moment, before picking up a mattress. "Riku?" Sora tilted his head, mystified, as Riku made his way with the mattress on his back. It was like watching an ant at work, carrying something twice its size back to the nest. But why would Riku be carrying a mattress on his back in the wee hours of the morning?

"I have to find out!" Quickly throwing on his clothes, Sora hurried out of his room and down the stairs. Soon he was outside, and walked up behind Riku as quietly as possible. The silver hair didn't hear him, probably because he was quietly swearing at his burden. And also talking to himself.

"Stupid heavy piece of junk. What? Someone's behind me?" The mattress turned around, and Sora tried to peek underneath to see Riku, but couldn't without kneeling. He was bent over pretty far.

"Hey Riku, what are you doing? Its three AM you know." Sora pointed out helpfully. There was a brief silence from the mattress.

"I'm not Riku. I'm… animate furniture. It's the newest thing. I clean myself during the night." Sora laughed. Riku sounded amazingly sincere, but he would have recognized the voice anywhere… even if it was a little strained with the effort.

"Come on Riku, I know it's you. What are you doing with the mattress?" Sora poked it.

"I'm on a mission from Glod." Sora blinked, confused. "Nevermind… fuck it." The mattress was dumped to one side, and the silver haired boy was standing there, glaring at him. Sora stared. It was Riku but…

"How did you get so short?" Sora was actually looking down a little into his friend's eyes. That was totally not right. And Riku's hair was shorter, spikier than it was these days. In fact, it was just the way he had worn it as a child.

"When did you get so tall?" Riku returned, then suddenly stepped forward, touching Sora on the neck. Sora didn't have time to react before a jolt of power knocked him off his feet in a searing moment of pain. "Sorry about this." He vaguely heard Riku say before he fell into unconsciousness.

_A mission from Glod?_ Tatiana questioned as Riku tried to pick up Sora, swearing again at the weight. _And what are you doing now?_

"I'm putting him to bed. If he wakes up in the morning with a headache, he'll probably think this was just a dream. But if he wakes up in the middle of the street he'll know it wasn't. What was that, by the way?" The force that had knocked Sora out had come from Tatiana.

_The Vulcan death grip._

"Oh bullshit!" Riku paused as he slipped into Sora's house. "Wait, how do you know about Vulcans?" He carefully kept is voice down to a whisper, not wanting to wake Sora's mother.

_I've been watching Riku for some time. Star Trek is the one TV show he watched, until his parents switched to satellite. I admit, I don't understand most of it, but I got the Vulcan death grip. Actually, that was just a variation on the light force I hit you with yesterday, when you were playing with my tits._

"Oh, I see." Now that she mentioned it, he remembered Star Trek. RiRi grunted and suddenly switched to the female form. Sora was just too tall to carry in his male one. "That's better." Pretty soon he had Sora safely in bed. The boy was still dressed in all of his clothes, but that couldn't be helped. RiRi was not about to undress him. "Hopefully he'll think it was a dream."

_He probably will. A mission from Glod indeed._

"It's a quote from a book. I'm a literary nerd, sue me." RiRi hoisted the mattress back up, grunting as he assumed his male form again. Tatiana watched over him as he went back to the spring…

* * *

_You have it?_

"I think so." RiRi watched the water intently, a wooden spear in one hand. Tatiana had showed him how to fashion it, but let him do the actual work. Now she was doing the same for the spear fishing. It wasn't easy, but in the end, he was guaranteed a meal… if necessary, Tatiana would take over and she never missed. He didn't want her to, though. He wanted to master this for himself. "Alright!" He grinned as he finally caught a fish. It twitched and spasmed on the end of his spear as he climbed back out of the water.

_Small, but it will do. _RiRi nodded, and took out a knife he'd grabbed from Sora's house, using it to scale the fish. His parents would never notice it was gone, and if they did they'd think it had simply been misplaced. _If that were an elf knife, it would be made of copper._

"Elves aren't big on technology, are they." RiRi observed, gutting the fish and cleaning it, then spearing it on a stick and holding it over the fire.

_No, not at all. Copper is the most complicated thing we work. We don't even make glass. We use wood for almost everything… even some of our blades are wood, but they have to be enchanted to hold an edge._ RiRi blinked at that.

"That sounds… limited… do you have books?" RiRi couldn't imagine a life without books. Riku was very active, very much a jock… but he was also a rabid reader and RiRi had the same love of books.

_Not exactly. We cure hides and make ink to write on them with. So we use scrolls. They're only for very important matters, though… like religious things. Religion is very central to our lives._

"Worshipping the All Mother?" RiRi bit into the fish. It wasn't very good, still a little raw, but it would do. It was certainly fresh.

_Yes. Her name is Amalisha, the Mother of the World. There is also her consort, Vara, Father of the Elves. He convinced her to birth us in the beginnings of the world. They also have a son and a daughter… Nala the gentle handed, who escorts the deceased to their place in the light and darkness, and Kaluisha, the knowledge bringer. He taught us the arts of reading and writing and fire making._

"Interesting. The light and darkness? That's a bit odd." RiRi was a bit hazy on it… Riku's parents weren't really religious… but he'd heard the afterlife mostly described as light, not darkness.

_Indeed. It is our belief that all hearts, except for the Princesses of the Heart, are pulled from both the darkness and the light. This is not good or bad, simply part of the balance of all things. And when we die, the parts of us that are light return to the light, and the dark returns to the dark. And so we are reborn. Except for the Princesses of the Heart._

"And what about them?" RiRi was fascinated. He hadn't really thought much about it, but it seemed that elves really weren't much like humans at all. They had a completely different culture, for one… he wondered what else about Tatiana would be surprising.

_The general belief is that a Princess of the Heart is born as a balance, a check to the darkness. If so… I was a poor check…_Tatiana fell silent for a moment. _Or my people were weak. I had no keyblader to rescue me._

"Is that why you didn't go back to your people when you escaped? You were afraid he would kidnap you again?" That seemed logical to RiRi, but Tatiana seemed to think about it for a moment.

_Yes… and no. With warning, my people could have laid powerful protections on me. There was more._ She hesitated a moment, then continued reluctantly. _Please don't think too harshly of my people, RiRi. They would have thought they were doing what was best for me. But… bearing children is hard for elves at the best of times. I was scarcely thirty summers when he stole me. To my people, that is like a child of twelve… barely nubile. Immature organs do not carry a child well. They would have rid me of the babe._

"Without asking you?" RiRi frowned at that, and the sadness in Tatiana's voice.

_Yes. And even if they had, by some miracle, let me risk my life to birth Riku… mating outside the elven race is strictly forbidden. The offspring of such couples are outcaste. I was of low caste to begin with… most likely it would have been demanded that I expose him on a rock._ RiRi's mouth dropped open at that. _Please, don't think too harshly of us. There is good reason for the prohibition. There are… almost elves in my world. Not humans, something else. Mating with them produces a debased subrace that is very dangerous. Humans are unknown in my world, so my people would have treated Riku like one of those hybrids._

"Good grief. I can see why you didn't go back." RiRi stood, changing over to his female form and frowning at the sundress. "How is this thing still clean?"

_Magic. The default clothing on both your forms will always be clean._

"Oh… uh, neat. But I better go pick up some other things as soon as I have some money." It would start looking very odd if he went everywhere in the same sundress. For now, though, there wasn't much choice. RiRi started walking towards the general store run by Riku's father, and smiled. Riku no doubt thought he would have to teach RiRi everything… not knowing that he had all the memories of helping his father in the summer for years.

It was going to be easy.

* * *

"I am so jealous of you Riku!"

"Huh?" Riku wiped off his forehead before glancing at Sora, who was eating some salty sweet ice cream. "You're jealous of stacking boxes?" That made no sense whatsoever. Riku was carrying in new inventory at the moment. He didn't expect Sora to help… Sora wasn't getting paid… but jealousy still made no sense.

"Not that. You get to be around her all day! Look." Sora gestured furtively with the ice cream, and Riku turned to look… and choked back a laugh. RiRi was up on a ladder, putting some of the larger items in place, and her sundress was clearly letting them see her green panties. It was a lovely sight. "I don't suppose your dad is still hiring?" Sora looked at Riku with pleading eyes, and Riku shook his head with a smile.

"Not likely, Sora. RiRi's working out really well." In fact, it was amazing how well she was fitting in. She claimed to have worked at another general store on the mainland, and she certainly seemed to have all the paperwork and the register down pat. That was odd. The convenience store was independent, so the systems shouldn't have been the same. But Riku's father wasn't going to question good, cheap help. "And if we did hire someone else it would be to give RiRi and me time off."

"Oh, ptth. Forget it then. I'll just hang around." Sora polished off his ice cream and tried to grab another, but Riku put his hand over the refrigerator door.

"You better be paying for those. And we don't take IOU's or monopoly money." He said firmly, and Sora sighed, fishing out his munny. "Thanks. Dad's gotten a bit mad about the shrinkage on those things."

"It wasn't me!" Sora protested, a little shamefaced. "I think. Maybe I forgot." Riku shook his head with a grin.

"You've got the attention span of a gnat, Sora." Riku watched as Sora's gaze traveled back to RiRi's fanny, and decided to conduct a psychology experiment. "And I'm the empress of Turkestan and my mother is a tray of jelly tarts."

"Cool." Sora said, and Riku smiled, shaking his head. It took a good ten seconds before Sora's gaze sharpened. "Wait, what did you say?"

"Nevermind." Riku ruffled Sora's hair fondly, before turning back to his stacking. He had plenty of work to do, and never enough time to do it.

"Oh, Riku, you know what was odd? I had a weird dream that you were hauling a mattress down the road. Only when I went to talk to you, it wasn't you. I mean, it was you but you were fifteen again. You were even wearing your old clothes and hair and everything." Sora licked his ice cream, and Riku couldn't help but notice how cute that made him look. "The weirdest part, though, was that I woke up in the morning in all my clothes and a blinding headache. So strange!"

"A sign you should lay off the ice cream. It's clearly giving you nightmares." Riku said sagely, and hauled in the last carton. "Now…" He pulled out an exacta-knife just as the door tinkled. RiRi scampered down from her perch to man the register as Riku started slitting open the boxes. "If you're not going to make yourself useful, scram. I'm going to be putting these away for hours."

"Okay!" Sora bounced up happily. "Just come down to the beach after work Riku, and bring RiRi."

"I know who you really want to see," Riku teased him gently as Sora grinned and scampered off. Riku smiled to himself as he began unpacking the stock. Strangely, Sora's fawning over RiRi didn't bother him much. He wasn't sure why that was… was he getting over Sora? It almost felt like it, but… Riku frowned down into the boxes. If he was going to date RiRi, he really needed to work out his feelings about Sora. And soon.


	4. Kharma's Grace

"This isn't working out well at all." RiRi frowned at his attempts at sculpture. The base had gone rather well, considering he was using clay taken from the spring banks. But the figure that was supposed to go on top was a different story.

_Don't worry about it. The image doesn't matter nearly as much as what's within your heart._

"That's a good thing, because it's looking more like Buddha than an elven goddess." Tatiana giggled in his mind, and he smiled, slowly working the dirt. "I know she's supposed to be standing, but I'm going to have to make her sitting or this will never stand up."

_I know. It should be wood. But the important part is that you're making it by hand._ RiRi nodded. If all he'd needed was a female figure, he'd have bought a ceramic one, but the making it by hand aspect was important. _You can try wood carving later, when you have a better knife._

"Right." The knife he'd stolen from Sora's kitchen was completely the wrong shape for fine woodcarving. Finally satisfied with the figure… or as satisfied as he was going to get… RiRi gently set it on the little dais he had made. It was a vaguely pyramidal shape, and he'd tried to make representations of vines and flowers on the sides, scraping them in with the tip of the knife. "This is probably going to come apart as soon as it rains."

_I know, but we must make do. Are you ready for the prayer and offering?_ RiRi nodded, pulling out a candle he'd bought from the convenience store and setting it in front of the idol. He went over to the fire, and pulled out a burning twig to light the candle. He could have used some of the matches he had gotten, but he was saving those for lighting the fire. He'd only borrowed a bit of cash from Riku, and payday wasn't until the end of the week, so he couldn't afford to waste them.

Kneeling in front of the idol, he said the prayers that Tatiana had coached him on, mentally translating as he spoke them. They were in an ancient religious language, but Tatiana had told him the meanings of the words.

"We praise you, Mother of All. Bless us with your gentle hands. In our time of need, give us the smallest of gifts… the branch of the tree, the candle in the night. We praise you, Father of All. Bless us with your kind touch. In our time of need, grant us the wisdom to know what must be done. Children of All, we praise you… in darkness, let us find the enlightenment of light. In light, let us find the release of darkness. Out of ignorance to understanding. Take this offering, blessed be." RiRi carefully placed a small piece of fish over the flame, wincing as he accidentally burnt his fingers. It was a purely ceremonial offering, but Tatiana said that was fine. What was in his heart was all that mattered.

RiRi blinked as there was a cool gust of air, scented with spring flowers. Then he glanced at the idol and stared, feeling Tatiana's awe. A small flower was growing at the base of the figurine, on top of the dais. With unnatural speed, it opened to reveal a silvery blossom with a bright yellow heart.

_The touch of the Goddess._ Tatiana sounded like she was near tears, and RiRi swallowed, a bit awed as well. _She answered her children, so far from home. It is a blessing._

"Or the Goddess is trying to cover up my awful artwork." RiRi said, unwilling to stay awed, and surprised a giggle out of Tatiana. "Either way, I need to get to work." He stood up, switching over to his female form and stretching. He gave the little altar one last glance before he walked away.

The blessing of the Goddess had to be a good omen.

* * *

Riku crossed his arms, leaning against a tree as he waited at the beach.

He'd asked Sora to meet him here, alone, and hoped Sora would actually do it. It would be just like him to innocently pick up Kairi or RiRi, and assume Riku wouldn't mind. After all, they were all friends right? The thought was discouraging, especially since Riku knew it was completely true.

"Riku!" Sora ran up, panting and grinning widely. "You wouldn't believe what RiRi and Kairi have been doing! Kairi's been taking her everywhere and buying her clothes. She said it's wrong for a girl to only have one dress." Riku blinked, suddenly distracted from his plans. RiRi had only one dress? He hadn't noticed before… but now that Sora mentioned it, RiRi was always wearing the same dress. And always green panties, although he devoutly hoped those weren't the same panties. "I wonder who she lives with? She's never invited us over." That was true too, and a touch odd. RiRi had been to all of their homes.

"Sora, that's interesting, but I have something else to talk to you about." Riku couldn't let Sora distract him, or he would end up not saying what he needed to say. Sora blinked at him, tilting his head to one side, and Riku felt almost ready to cry. His best friend was just so damned cute when he was confused. "Sora, I… I…" Riku gripped Sora's shoulders as the chocolate haired boy started to look a touch worried. Riku stared into his innocent blue eyes, as beautiful as the sky, and lowered his head, catching Sora's mouth in a kiss.

"Mrph?!?" Sora stood still, mouth opening in shock, and Riku took advantage of that to deepen the kiss. "Mrph!" Sora reached up, gripping Riku's shoulders, and for a moment the silver hair thought his friend was reciprocating as Sora's tongue slid over his. But then Sora suddenly jerked away, his face flushed and his eyes wide. "R-R-Riku?? What?" Riku stared at him, breathing heavily, and closed his eyes for a moment as he tried to control himself.

"God, Sora, I've wanted you for years." Sora's eyes seemed to widen even more as he stared at his friend as if he'd never seen him before. "I'm sorry. I never knew how to tell you."

"You're gay?" Sora's voice rose in a squeak, and Riku smiled sadly. "But you can't be gay! You used to like Kairi and now you like RiRi!"

"I think I'm bi." Riku was fairly sure of that now. Sora was right… he had liked Kairi once, and now RiRi was looking very attractive. But Sora was still firmly wedged into his heart. And he only had to picture Sora naked to feel… Riku swallowed hard, forcing that image away. Sora was freaked out enough without him getting a hard on. "The question is… how do you feel, Sora?" Sora looked sadly confused, staring at him with big blue eyes.

"Riku, I… I don't know." Riku blinked. He had been expected either rejection or acceptance, not that. "I've never thought of you that way, ever… this is so…" Sora reached up, running a hand through his hair and tugging on the spikes. "I… I need to think about it, okay?" And Sora was backing away. Riku wanted to stop him, but couldn't, and watched as the brunette finally bolted away.

"Sora…" Riku looked down at the ground, anger and depression warring inside him. He hoped he hadn't ruined their friendship. That would just be too much to bear. He was completely unaware of aquamarine eyes watching him from the bushes as he walked away, calling in the Way to Dawn.

He needed to practice, needed to drain some of the frustration. But not on the beach. There was a nearby stream nearby, without many trees on the banks… that would be perfect. As soon as he reached it, Riku began to practice in earnest, slashing at invisible enemies.

_What if he hates me?_ Riku couldn't help but think as he practiced, no matter how much he didn't want to. _What if he can't… god, how could I have been so stupid?_ Anything would have been better than losing Sora's friendship. Sora could always make him smile… he was like a bright ray of sunshine on a cloudy day…

Riku wasn't paying attention to where he was putting his feet, and when he accidentally stepped into the stream he was shocked back to awareness by the cool water. Then the slippery feeling of a mossy stone underfoot as he stumbled.

"Woah shit!" The Way to Dawn vanished as Riku suddenly struggled to stay upright… and failed as another rock shifted. He fell hard into the stream, feeling a blinding pain in his head and stars behind his eyes… and then, nothing at all.

* * *

"Shit!" RiRi immediately jumped out of the bushes as he saw Riku fall. To his horror, he saw the keyblade holder was unconscious in the stream… and his face was under the water. Quickly grabbing Riku by the shoulders, RiRi dragged him out and checked his breathing. The silver haired boy was still breathing… he hadn't been under the water long. But there was a frightening amount of blood spilled from a cut on his forehead.

"Damn!" RiRi touched his shirt, and hesitated. His default clothing was magic, and he was fairly sure it wouldn't tear easily. Instead, he pulled out Riku's shirt and called in his keyblade, using Soul Eater to slice off a piece of cloth to bind the wound. Hopefully, Riku wouldn't be upset about his shirt. It didn't look like a good one anyway. RiRi was vaguely aware that Soul Eater wasn't looking quite its usual self, but ignored it. He could check that out later. "He's soaked…" RiRi hesitated. What should he do? Riku felt very cold.

_Take him to your camp, in your female form. They're bound to find out about it eventually anyway… you might as well start introducing him to the truth now._ RiRi chewed his lip as Riku groaned and opened his eyes.

"Who…?" He blinked as he saw a boy above him… a boy with aquamarine eyes and spiky silver hair. Then he groaned, closing his eyes as the pain in his head throbbed in time with his heart. When he opened them again, it wasn't a boy above him. "RiRi?"

"Yes. You fell in the river, Riku. Here… let me take you to my place." RiRi grunted as he lifted up Riku in his arms. Even with his elven strength, carrying a full grown man wasn't easy, but Riku seemed astonished.

"I can walk." He protested weakly, and RiRi shook his head.

"I doubt that. Just hold that cloth in place." Riku blinked and raised a hand to the cloth on his forehead. "We're close to my place anyway." Riku couldn't have known, but the stream he had been practicing on was fed by RiRi's spring. It would be a very short walk to his campsite.

"Put me down…" RiRi finally set Riku down as they reached the campsite, and he blinked, looking around. "This is your place?" All he could see was a campfire and a crude little hut with a mattress in it. The mattress had a few threadbare blankets and a particularly ratty looking pillow. He thought it had likely been meant to be used by a pet. A wave of dizziness came over him, and Riku sat down on the mattress hard, groaning slightly at the pain in his head. RiRi sighed softly, and sat down beside him.

"Yes, this is where I live." He shrugged as Riku looked at him in disbelief. "There's fresh water and the hut keeps the rain off, and I've got a trench in the woods. All the comforts of home."

"Were you raised by wolves?" Riku asked, appalled. RiRi grinned at him as she stood, walking over the fire and feeding it a few more sticks.

"You could say that. I might tell you about it someday, if I feel like it." RiRi's smile turned sour as he thought about his childhood… not the childhood of Riku's memories, but his real 'childhood' in Castle Oblivion. If that wasn't being raised by wolves, he didn't know what was. "I didn't want to say… it's my business, no one else's… but I actually have no family and no friends to stay with." RiRi shrugged again. "I'm nineteen, I can do what I want. I wanted to live on the island."

"So you just… came here? From nothing to nothing?" Riku asked, hardly able to believe in such a life. RiRi smiled, and it was ravishingly beautiful… and happy. She was happy with this?

"From nothing to something… I have you now, and Sora, and Kairi. I have my hut and my spring." RiRi sat down beside him again and gently put a hand on Riku's shoulder. "I have a job and I have food. What more could I want?"

"A house and a real bed?" Riku looked down at the mattress. It had clearly seen better days. What were those stains? RiRi grinned.

"Pussy. We should trade places, I bet you couldn't keep my fire going for a day." RiRi's tone turned more serious. "Riku, can you keep this from Sora and Kairi? I think they wouldn't be happy with it, and I don't need help. I like being independent." He really did. It was an amazing feeling, being completely self-sufficient and needing almost nothing from the outside world.

"If that's what you want." Riku still couldn't imagine living in the woods like this… but he did understand what RiRi meant about being independent. He'd been thinking about trying to break off from his parents for a while, but hadn't been able to think of a good way to do it. Living in the woods was just too extreme for him.

"Good! How's your head doing?" Riku winced as she gently peeled away the cloth. "Ugly, but not serious I think. You might need stitches though. You were lucky I was there, you could have drowned."

"I know." And he did know. Riku rubbed his head, shivering for a moment. That would have been a really stupid way to die, after everything that had happened. And how would Sora have felt? Riku was morbidly certain that Sora would have blamed himself for upsetting him, even if it was just a stupid mischance combined with carelessness. It was a terrible thought. "RiRi, don't tell anyone about this please? I'd rather not look like more of a moron than I actually am."

"You keep my secret, I'll keep yours." RiRi agreed, then smiled and leaned close, whispering in his ear. "I have a lot more secrets, but I'm going to keep them for now." Riku shivered and swallowed at the feeling of her hot breath against his ear. RiRi was unbearably sexy sometimes.

"Erm, well." Riku took a deep breath, breaking the mood and standing up. "I better go home and see if I need stitches." RiRi frowned, and stood.

"I'll go with you. You don't need to pass out and dash out the few brains you've got left." Riku was about to protest when he felt another wave of dizziness, and shut his mouth. RiRi had a point.

"Thanks, RiRi." Riku hesitated a moment, then offered her his hand. She smiled, and took it as they walked back to his house. He really did like her, but he liked Sora too… Riku finally decided to just go with the flow and see how it all turned out.

Hopefully, it would turn out well.

* * *

"Okay." RiRi rubbed his hands together nervously. He was back at the spring, in his male form, and was about to muster his courage and examine Soul Eater. That moment at the stream had been the first time he'd summoned the keyblade since he'd been brought back from the darkness. Soul Eater was the keyblade of the darkness in Riku's heart. He had thought that it would just stay the same… a mere replica of a dark, dark keyblade… but he had seen something different when he called it. And that was strangely frightening.

Holding out his hand, RiRi summoned the keyblade. It appeared in a swirl of darkness shot with light, and RiRi swallowed hard as he lifted the blade up and examined it.

It was nothing like Soul Eater. It resembled the Kingdom Key, but it was pure black. It looked like wrought iron, and tiny little black vines and flowers made their delicate way up the blade. The head of the blade was a simple key, but was set with three gems of pure white that seemed to radiate light. RiRi could sense a powerful darkness and an equally powerful light in the keyblade. In that, at least, it was similar to the Way to Dawn… but it was completely different. The Way to Dawn symbolized Riku's personal journey. This one seemed to stand for something different.

_Kharma's Grace._ Tatiana whispered the name of the keyblade, and RiRi nodded, instinctively knowing that she was right. _The keyblade of Nala. The blade of death and rebirth._

"Fitting, since I died and was reborn…" But RiRi knew, looking at the blade, that that was the whole reason he had this keyblade. He could feel the touch of divinity about it. Why were the elven gods blessing him with their touch? Because he was protecting Riku and worshiping them, if only a little? Or was it something more?

RiRi didn't know, but he was certain he would find out.


End file.
